However after her Oscar nomination for Wild in 2015, her appearance in the movie Hot Pursuit is a definite return to the sillier side for Witherspoon. In it, she plays uptight police officer Cooper who has been relegated to the evidence room in the basement of the station after mistakenly starting a teen on fire with a Taser. Then one day she is called into the Captain’s (John Carroll Lynch) office and given a new assignment. Her job is to escort the Latino diva Daniella Riva (Sofía Vergara) to a court appearance in Dallas.

Unfortunately these women are about as opposite as they can be. Cooper is dutiful, driven and a little bit dull. She’s a by-the-books officer who performers her job to the letter. Daniella lets it all hang out (in more ways than one). She loves pretty clothes, has a bit of a temper and doesn’t mind using her assets to her advantage. To make things more difficult for Cooper, Daniella fears for her life and isn’t at all interested in going to Dallas to testify.

The result is a ridiculous road trip movie filled with far-fetched scenarios and constant bickering between the women as they try to outrun the thugs who want to kill the witness. Along the way, they slowly begin to appreciate one another and build a friendship. That may be the only thing that keeps this movie from being a complete and utter disaster.

When it comes to content concerns, Hot Pursuit has some of everything. Vergara’s partially exposed cleavage gets plenty of screen time, as do the sexually suggestive jokes about lesbians, anatomy and sexual acts. The script features at least two-dozen profanities including a couple partial uses of a strong sexual expletive. There’s some drinking and a scene where several characters get high after being dusted with a coating of “baking powder” following a car accident. There are guns. There are Tasers. There are car crashes and lawbreakers, dirty cops and more dirty cops. And by the end of the movie even the good cop is becoming less diligent about keeping the rules.

To be fair, the film has some funny moments involving the two actresses, who seem to be enjoying themselves—at least some of the time. But those moments are too few and way too far between. Instead the storyline is packed with stereotypical depictions of Texans, Latinos and police officers that eat doughnuts, take bribes and make condescending comments to their fellow female co-workers. Unfortunately even the ebullient Witherspoon and the alluring Vergara can’t compensate for that hot mess.

About author

Kerry Bennett is interested in media from both a journalist and parent perspective. Along with authoring articles for several family-oriented publications, she has written for Parent Previews for over 15 years. As a parent herself, she believes parents play a powerful role in teaching media literacy in their homes.

Hot PursuitRating & Content Info

Why is Hot Pursuit rated PG-13?Hot Pursuit is rated PG-13 by the MPAA for sexual content, violence, language and some drug material.

Violence: Guns are fired frequently and at least three people are shot and supposedly killed. Others are injured. Property damage result from the shots as well. Two characters have a Taser fired at them, which causes their clothes to start on fire. A man shoots off his finger. Police officers intentionally disobey rules. A girl discovers her father was intentionally killed. A man is on parole for beating others with a baseball bat. He later beats a man with his fists. A woman is punched in the head and knocked out.

Sexual Content: The script contains numerous jokes about lesbians, menstruation and female anatomy. Women expose their underwear in public. Low cut clothing reveals some cleavage. A character talks about being uncomfortable while watching sexual activity involving animals. A woman walks in on a man who is naked. A couple kisses. Crude sexual dialogue and innuendo is frequently used.

Language: The script contains at least two-dozen mild and moderate profanities, as well as two partial uses of a strong sexual expletive. The script also includes some racial slurs and name calling.

Alcohol / Drug Use:Several characters, including a group of older teens or young adults, are shown with alcohol. A car accident causes a cloud of illegal drugs to cover several people. At least on character shows signs of being high.

Page last updated July 17, 2017

More parents' guide for Hot Pursuit after the break...

Hot Pursuit Parents' Guide

Note: This movie has also been known as Untitled Reese Witherspoon/Sofia Vergara Comedy and Don’t Mess With Texas”.

Talk about the movie with your family…

Why does Daniella accuse a man of racial profiling? What is racial profiling? Along with ethnic jokes, how does the script make fun of size, age, sexual orientation and religion?

What challenges do prosecutors face when dealing with drug cartels? Why does Daniella feel that she needs to exact her own justice?

This is a movie that features characters that are complete opposite. What other movies can you think of where opposites learn to work together and become friends?

Home Video

The most recent home video release of Hot Pursuit movie is August 11, 2015. Here are some details…

Home Video Notes: Hot PursuitRelease Date: 11 August 2015Hot Pursuit releases to home video (Blu-ray/DVD/Digital Copy) with the following extras:
- The Womance - Reese and Sofía's on-set crazy-mashup-antics. From dance moves to car crashes, see these women light up the screen and leave us in stitches with their side-splitting comedic styling.
- Say What? - Watch the hilarity that ensued when Reese and Sofía each tried to speak the other's language. See Reese get her tongue tied trying to speak Spanish and watch Sofía's tongue actually go numb from trying to speak English.
- Action Like A Lady - In this action montage we will see all the crazy fun that went into creating the insane action scenes in the film. From jumping out a ten-foot high window, to a crazy girl fight to commandeering a tour bus during a high-speed shoot out… bring on the laughs.
- Alternate Ending